Apple’s solar farm claimed to make use of high-performance SunPower panels, rumored to open in October

The San Jose Mercury News revealed Apple’s filing that claims San Jose-based SunPower to have won the contract for supplying panels for its upcoming solar farm. The company is evidently aiming for at least fourteen photovoltaic installations on the solar farm and is planning to self-finance the project.According to the report, every photovoltaic installation would include multiple SunPower E20 435-watt photovoltaic modules that would be based on the tracking systems of the ground-mounted single axis. Both SunPower and Apple refused to give any comments concerning the claim. However, last month Apple disclosed in a Facilities Environmental Report that its North Carolina factories will represent the largest solar user-owned plants in America once they are completed. According to the company, a high percentage of renewable energy will be consumed by the data center itself.

Having analyzed Apple’s own figures, Greenpeace totaled that the fuel cell installation and the solar farm would provide 9.8 percent of the data center’s energy needs.

People with inside knowledge of the matter have indicated that Leaf Solar Power will be engaged in the project as well, despite the fact that the exact involvement of the company was not instantly apparent.

Apple’s Maiden, N.C. data center is considered to be the region’s largest center with a 500,000 square-foot facility. Apple has already disclosed plans for building another “green” data center in Prineville, Oregon. The company refused to confirm more details about the project, although it is said that Apple purchased a 160-acre plot of land for $5.6 million.

Personally I’d be cool if down the line they could get some PV charging capacity out an iDevices black screen when it’s in standby. There were patents for that I think.

IMO it’s not power generation that’s the big challenge, but storing that power. That’s the nut that needs to be cracked, and it is actually in Apple’s best interest to maybe spend some of it’s billions there. More efficient and cheaper storage of more energy would make their products better.

They said power part of the data centre meaning that solar electricity will be able to contribute to part of the power. Solar electricity will be to unreliable to use for all the power as no sun equals no power